< back
BORDER NEWS
The governor of Arizona, Jane Hull, recently criticized the federal government for its decision to delay construction of fences, roads and other things that will be used to deter undocumented border crossings.  The government has decided that additional environmental studies are needed, which will delay construction for about two months.  According to Gov. Hull, migrants cause more environmental damage that the fence and roads would. 
********* 
Abdel Hakim Tizegha, an Algerian national who was arrested in late December attempting to illegally enter the US near Seattle, has been sentenced to time served.  Since his arrest he has been in jail.  The INS has said it will now take custody of him and begin deportation proceedings against him.  Under current INS rules, Tizegha will remain in detention during the deportation process.  He is suspected of being involved in a plot to bomb various locations in the US on New Year’s Eve. 
********* 
Two men convicted of smuggling 37 Chinese nationals into the US and Canada have been sentenced to two years in prison, the maximum allowed by the law under which they were convicted.  Each man had pled guilty in March for their role in a scheme to bring Chinese nationals to the US in cargo containers aboard ships.<ぐ颵ᇏ芻ꨀ봀௎噓�۷?譗Ѿ੷譟廎沔> 
********* 
Federal authorities have charged seven people in connection with a smuggling operation in which Thai women were brought to the US and forced to work as prostitutes.  The charges were the result of an undercover INS investigation that reached as far as Bangkok, Thailand and Santiago, Chile.  According to statements in the indictment, the ring would allow Chinese nationals to pay a fee to come to the US where they would be released.  The Thai women, who are believed to have not known what was going to happen, were forced into prostitution until the costs of their passage were paid.